Reports from Iran indicate that at least 44 lawyers have been arrested since mass anti-government protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who had been arrested by Iranian authorities for wearing her headscarf improperly.
While about 20 of the lawyers have been released from custody, at least two have been sentenced – one to six months in prison and the other to a year.
In November, a group of lawyers released a statement saying that the majority of Iranians were no longer interested in the Islamic Republic.
Legal and human rights experts say Iran uses harsh tortures to obtain forced confessions from the protesters.
Iran will not allow independent lawyers to defend most of the demonstrators even though some protesters are facing death sentences. At least two protesters have already been executed.
